Hittites

The Hittites were a people who inhabited Anatolia (now mostly Turkey) during the Late Bronze Age. They established a kingdom with its capital at Hattusa, located in central eastern Anatolia. Their official language belonged to the Indo-European language family, making it one of the earliest attested languages of that family.

The Hittites wrote in cuneiform script, which they borrowed from Mesopotamian tradition, and also used a hieroglyphic script adapted for the Luwian language. Thousands of clay tablets recovered from the ruins of Hattusa have provided information on law, religion, treaties, and the history of the kings.

Location and capital

Hattusa was situated on a naturally defensible elevated site. The city was surrounded by a long wall, large gates, and temples. Central Anatolia possessed rich deposits of copper and tin, which supported an economy based on agriculture, herding, and trade in metals. The kingdom exercised control over territories in southern Anatolia and northern Syria.

System of governance

The highest authority was the king, who also served as chief priest. The queen (known as Tawananna) held an official position that continued even after the king's death. The state relied on treaties with minor kingdoms (vassals), specifying taxation, military contributions, and loyalty. These treaties represent among the earliest examples of written diplomacy.

Conflict with Egypt and the Battle of Kadesh

The Hittites and Egypt competed for control of Syria. The Battle of Kadesh, which took place around the mid-13th century BCE, saw the forces of the Hittites face those of Ramesses II. Afterward, a peace treaty was reached and recorded in written form by both sides—one of the most famous peace treaties in ancient history.

Collapse and successors

Around the end of the 12th century BCE, Hattusa was abandoned and burned, part of the broader collapse of the Late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean. Subsequently, small kingdoms emerged in southern Anatolia and northern Syria, often called "Neo-Hittite" or Syro-Hittite, which continued Hittite cultural traditions and Luwian hieroglyphic writing.